Apparatus for and method of tempering glass articles



T.- C. BAKER Oct. 10, 1950' APPARATUS FOR AND m'mon 0F TEJIPERING cuss ARTICLES Filed Dec. a, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 230 riae ys [WY/8242207 I [13 F te 8 W ,M J E M T. N E m H 4 R 4 m I. 0 A15 5 M P w 0 Z II---mmwmmurliii w W a e. a Wm Och-10, 1950 c, BAKER I 2,525,112 v APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF TEMEE-RING cuss ARTICLES Filed Dec. 3, 1943 :5 Sheets-$199 2 SUCTION PIPE [nan-n30? Ti? 20 arefflaz'er ,z' ze 5 y fliiavne zs 2,525,112 APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF TEWERING cuss ARTICLES Fil ed necrs, 1943' T. C. BAKER s sneei-sheet 3 f fikqass /77/354 Patentecl Oct. 10, 1950 UNITED PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD'OF TEMPERIN G GLASS ARTICLES Theodore 'C. 'Baker, Newington, Conn.,,assignor to Hartford-Empire Company,-Hartford, -Gonn., :a corporation of Delaware Application"December 3, 1943, Serial No. 512,807

- 11 Claims.

Thisinvention'relatesto improvements in apparatus for and methodsof tempering glass articles, especially those such as lenses, mirrors and 'o'therartic-les which are generally plate-like and may be of concavo-convex shape.

In tempering glass articles, it'is usual to bring the glass of an article tobe tempered t a temperature at which substantially all strains therein will be relievedf This' tem perature,'whichmay be termed the uppertempering temperature, may

be at or sli'ghtly' 'belo w the softening point'of the glass. In tempering, the glass article is chilled or cooled rapidly, as by applying air to the entire surface thereof, to lower its temperature'from the upper tempering temperature to a temperature-below the strain pointofthe lass in such a way that the glass article, when cool, will haveits surface layers in compression and its intermediate layers in tension.

A serious difficulty which has been encountered in attempts to temper plate-like glassarticles, such as concavo-c'onvex lenses,'-is that thershape of such an article is likely'to be-obje'ctionably altered during the necessary handling and cooling thereof. This :difiiculty resultslin'part lfrom the shape of the article." which is such :thatany portion of the article "that is Jnot directly sup ported islikely to 'sag 'or' be .distorted when the glass of the article hasebeen heated :to ;a .tem-

perature atoor near its softening-'point. 7 Such compressive strains are to be set up' by the tempering operation.

An object "of-the present invention ist provide .an appara'tusifor and .a method of tempering articles of "the character above described so :as to overcome the above mentioned difliculty and-to assure satisfactory. tempering of such articles without causing -or;;permitting :any lharmful 7 change in the yshapethereof. V V

The present invention provides 1 a simple but efiectivemeansfor supporting and'moving a glass article of the character described so that it;may

be heated to the iupper tempering temperature and .thenrdeliv'ered to ,a "supporting body of cooling fluid, all without affording; an :opportunity to the article harmfullyitotchange itsshape, The

invention also :provides efficient cooperative means for -applying cooling fluid to the thus supportedglass articlethroughout substantiall its entire surface area'to effect rapid cooling or chilling of the article.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will hereinafter become obvious or .will be pointed out-in the following description of illustrative practical embodiments of, the invention,- as' shown in the. accompanying drawings, in

which: a

Figure l is a fragmentary view,.-mainly in elevation andpartly int/ erticallsection,showing the cooperative partsrof one form of .apparatus embodying thexinvention and. particularly adapted for the tempering, of a ,concavo-convexr glass lens;

Fig. 2; is .a view, mainly :in plan and partly in horizontal -.section,. .of cooperative parts of the same form of apparatus thegview, indicating three different positionstvhich maybe occupied successively by. a: movably mounted glass article supporting ;-head; which ;is included ,in such apparatus;

Fig.3 is a fragmentary. vertical. sectional :view

ofasecondjorm ofyapparatus embodying the The apparatuslshown in l igs.v 1 and 2 may comprisev a .-frazme;;;structure, generally indicated at-llfl. :A heating 'gfurnace-is shown more or less diagrammatically gerbil-[103' bei upp d up a horizontal member !2 of the frame structure at one; sidegof: thejatter. The gheatingfurnace has-an opening ;;,l;3 in fthewvertical wall thereof next totheiramficstructure, which may be termed the front of thelfllrnace. Burners M are shown in Fig. 25in association with burner ports 15 in the side walls of -the;-furnace for heating the interior of theiurnaice. Obviously, any suitable means forior wayrfof heating the furnacamay be employed.

The apparatusgshown has "been, designed lfor useto temper s concave-convex glass lens or mirror, such as -that;indicated at l6 and best i seen in Fig. '1, -Such apparatus includesa movably mounted hollow gglass article. supporting head I l, thetop wall l-8 of-wh-ichhas beenformed to .be-convexo-concavetso thatgits upper surface will conformto the-concave surface of the glass article {1'6 whenthe latter-is disposed thereon, as shown inFi'g. 1. Inother words, theglass article supportingtop-surfaceof the; head [1 will affordsupport i rzthezslassrart clethrou h t s stantially the entire then lower surface of the supported article.

The article carrying head I! is carried by a shaft l9 which is supported in horizontally spaced aligned bearings and 2|, respectively, on a supporting plate 22 of the general frame structure In, as shown in Fig. 2. The structural arrangement for supporting the shaft I9 is such that this shaft may be moved rectilinearly through the bearings 20 and 2| and also may be rotated about its axis in the bearings. The hollow head I? is attached at one side thereof to an end of a laterally bent end portion 9a of the shaft [9. The shaft I9 may be hollow so as to be provided with a longitudinally extending bore 23 which is in open communication at one end with a chamber 24 within the hollow head H. The bore 23 may be closed at its opposite end by a suitable pipe fitting, such as the tee 25, by which an operating handle 26 is attached to the shaft. The arrangement is such that an operator may grasp the handle 26 and slide the shaft l9 longitudinally through the bearings 20 and 2| to move the hollow head I! from a position within the furnace H, as shown in Fig. 2, in the dotted line position A in the same view. A horizontal rest bar 61 may be supported on the frame structure II] in position to. extend in parallel relation with the main, straight portion of the shaft l9 and into the furnace beneath the rim of the hollow head IT at the side of the latter remote from the shaft IS. The bar 6'! serves to prevent downward swinging movement of the head II in a clockwise direction about the axis of the shaft |9 below a predetermined level at which the head I! will be supported while within the furnace and while being retracted from the furnace to the position A. The hollow head preferably is disposed in a fully upright position when at this level, i. e., with all transverse axes thereof approximately horizontal.

The handle 26 may bemanipulated by the operator to rotate the shaft |'9 counter-clockwise about its axis through 180 to swing the hollow head I! from the'position A in Fig. 2 to position B in the same view. In this operation, the laterally bent end portion |9a of the shaft l9 functions as a crank arm on the shaft IS. The hollow article carrying head will be disposed in an inverted position directly over an upwardly facing lower cooling fluid discharge head 2'! (best seen in Fig. 1) when such head I! has been brought in the manner described to its position B, Fig. l. 1

The glass article l6 carried by the head I! may be held firmly in place thereon by suction during the inversion of the head and until the time desired. To this end, the top N3 of the carrying head I! is provided with numerous small apertures therein, as indicated at 28 in Fig. 1. The bearing structure 2| is formed to provide a chamber 29 surrounding the portion of the shaft l9 that is at any time located within that bearing. A pipe 30 is operatively connected at one end with the bearing'structure 2| so as to communicate with the chamber 29. The pipe 30 is operatively connected at its opposite end by. a valve 3| with a sub-atmospheric pressure pipe 32. The valve 3| may be a conventional twoway valve having an operative connection also with a super-atmospheric pressure pipe 33. The valve 3| is shown as having a handle 34, which may be turned manually, to establish communication between the pipe 30 and either pipe 32 or 33 at any given time and of course to shut off 4 pressure from the other of such pressure pipes at that time. The hollow shaft I9 is provided with a, port 35 in the wall thereof at a suitable location along the length of the shaft to be moved into the chamber29 when the shaft I9 is retracted to withdraw the head I! and the glass article thereon from the furnaceto the retracted position A; Fig. 2. At this time, the pipe 30 may communicate through the valve 3| with the subatmospheric pressure supply pipe 32 so that subatmospheric pressure finally will be applied through the apertures 28 in the top of the carrying head I1 directly to the glass article thereon. The suction by which the glass article is held on the head I! will be maintained when the shaft is rotated counter-clockwise through 180 from position A to postion B, Fig. 2, to dispose the glass article over the upwardly facing cooling head 21.

The cooling head 21 preferably has its top 36 formed to be concave-convex so that the upper surface of this top will conform to the curvature of the convex surface of the glass article I6. Numerous closely spaced jet holes 3'! may be formed in the top 36. The head 21 may be supported on the upper end of a vertically disposed or upright hollow shaft 38,. the bore of which, indicated at 39, is in opencommunication at its upper end with achamber '40 which is formed within the head 21. q The shaft 38 may extend downwardly through a suitableclamping mechanism, generally indicated at 4|, by which the shaft may be attached to a;supporting member 42 of the main frame structure H). An upwardly opening check valve 43 of the ball valve type may connect the vertical shaft 38 at its lower end with a pipe 44 which may lead to any suitable source of pressure fluid supply. The pressure fluid supplied through the pipe 44 may be air under a relatively low pressure, as air from a blower fan (not shown); It will be obvious that the air thus supplied through the pipe 44 and the upwardly opening check valvel43 to the bore of the vertical shaft 38 will pass from the latter to the chamber 4|] in the head 27 and thence through the jet holes 36 so as to provide a body of upwardly moving cooling air immediately. above the cooling head 21.

The glass article |6 may be dropped from the carrying head ll'when the'latter is at its position 13, Fig. 2, onto this body of upwardly mov-i ing low pressure air and then be supported by the latter, above and out of contact with the top of the cooling head 21,-substantially as shown in Fig. 1. The delivery of the glass article from the head I! onto this supporting body of cooling air may be effected by relieving the suction on the article from the interior of the head H. In order to assure immediate relief of this suction, I prefer to apply low pressure air briefly to the upper surface of the glass article-at the time the suction is cut off. This may be accomplished by turning the handle 34 of the 'valve 3| to open communication between the super-atmospheric pressure pipe 33 and the pipe 30 and to close oif the sub-atmospheric supply pipe 32. This suction-relieving and article-releasing structural arrangement and mode of operation may not be needed in some applications of the invention or for some articles. In some-cases, the suction on the supported glass article will be satisfactorily I he invention also :makes provision ::for :discharging cooling fluid, suchas air,'from an .uppf r movably mounted downwardly. facing cooling fluid discharge .head 46 downwardly onto the glass article while the latter floats upon the body of upwardly directed cooling fluid fro-m the. lower head 21. The head 46 preferably has its bottom wall .41 formed to .be .convexo-concave in shape with the convexly curved surface thereof facing downward and curved to conform to the curvature of the upper, concave. surface of the glass article I6, Fig. 1. Numerous closely spaced ,apertures or jet holes .48 are provided in the bottomwall 41 of the head 46. This head is hollow. and

has a chamber 49 therein. A vertical piston rod 50 movably supports the head '46, .being attached at its lower end-to the top of the latter. The piston rod extends into a vertical cylinder. 5| through a tubular valve. casing 52 .which may be formedv as a downward extension from the lower head '53 of the cylinder. The cylinder 5| may be carried by a bracket structure 54 which is attached, as at 55, to a part of the main frame structure Ill. The piston rod is attached at its upper end to a piston 56 which may be reciprocated verticallyinthe cylinder. 5| in the usual manner. I

. When the piston 56 is at the upper end of its path of vertical reciprocatory movements in the cylinder 5|, as shown in dotand-dash lines in Fig. l, the head 46 will be in a raised, out of the way, position as also indicated by dot-and-dash lines in the same view. This is the position of the head 46 while the glass article is being delivered to the supporting body of low pressure air from the lower head 21 and until the carrying head H has at least completed a suflicient part of its return movement from position 3 to position A, Fig. 2, to be out of the path of the descending upper cooling head 46.

A pressure fluid supply pipe 51 is operatively connected with an inlet .port or lateral opening 58 ,in the tubular valve casing 52. This. valve casing may be provided with outlet ports 59 and 60 at the same level. A flexible tube 6| connects the port 59 with the hollow upper cooling head 46 so as to communicate with the chamber-l9 withinthe latter. A pipe 52 is operatively connected atpne end with the port 6E) and at its other end with a port 62 in the side wall ofthe lower upwardly facing head 21. The piston'rod 50 is provided with an annular groove 63 which is suitably located along the length of such piston rod .so that it will be located in communication wi h theports 58, 59 and 60 when the piston 56 is v at its lower position in the cylinder. At this time, the downwardly facing cooling fluid discharge head 46 will be in the position shown by the full lines in Fig. 1. At this position of the head 46, cooling fluid under pressure from the pipe 57- will enter the groove 63 around the piston rod, and thus be supplied to the flexible tubing 6| and-the pipe 62. From the tubing 6|, cooling fluid under pressure will enter the chamber 49 inthe upper cooling head 46, from which it will be discharged through the jet holes 48 downwardly against the upper surface of the glass article It as shown by arrows 64 in Fig. 1. At the same time, cooling fluid under a like pressure will pass from the pipe 62 into the chamber 40 of the lower cooling fluid discharge head 2'! and thence through the jet holes in the top of the latter u-pwardly in supporting and cooling relation with the, glass article l6, as indicated by the arrows .45.;in Fig. 1, This structural arrangementpermits the use. of =coo1ingcfluid, such as air, under a desirably higher, pressure to effect rapid cool-- ing or chilling of the glass article and atthe same time permits use of cheaper, more readily obtainable low pressure air asan initial cooling fluid under-support for the glass article.

The'jets of higher pressure cooling fluid passingupwardly through the jet holes'3'l of the lower cooling head, as indicated by the arrows 45, will of course replace similarly moving jets of low pressure air from the hollow shaft 38 when the higher pressure air enters the chamber 4|] and causes closing of :the check valve 43. The low pressure air,.which may be at a pressure as low as one-quarter of a pound per square inch,

will afford adequate initial undersupport for the glass article without causing undesirably high lifting or upward bodily displacement of the article or too great a local cooling of the under surface portion of the article before downward jets of cooling fluid can be applied to the upper surface of the article. The pressure at which ,jets of higher pressure air will be applied in both upward and downward directions against the airsupported article may be selected or predetermined with a view to using the particular pressure which is most suitable to temper a particular article to the extent desired. Such higher pressure may be different for articles of different shapes, wall thicknesses, sizes, degree of temper desired, etc. I have used higher pressures in the order of five pounds per square inch to effect sate isfactory tempering of glass lenses like that designated-l6 in Fig. 1, making use of a structure substantially like that shown in this View and a procedure substantially as hereinbefore described.

The upper vertically movable head 46 may be provided with pins 65 which depend from the rim portion thereof at intervals around such rim for contact with the rim of the lower head to space the upper head suitably above the air-supported or floating glass article when the upper head is lowered to its cooling fluid discharge position. These pins also may serve as a guard or fence to prevent lateral displacement of the glass article from the space between the cooling heads should such a lateral movement of the article be initiated in any manner or for any cause during the cooling-of such article.

The carrying head I! may be provided with similar pins on its rim portion, these being indicated at lit, for contact with the rim of the lower cooling head I! when the carrying head has been brought to its article delivery position B, Fig. 2.

The operation of the apparatus as thus described will be readily understood. The glass article to be tempered will be supported on the carrying head throughout the entire area of a major surface of such article, as the concave surface-of the lens l6, while such article is being heated withinthe furnace H and continuously thereafter during the retraction and subsequent movements of the carrying head until such article, in an inverted position, as with its convexly curved surface downward, is released from the inverted carrying head onto the article-support? ing body of low pressure cooling fluid from the lower cooling fluid discharge head 21. The cooling of the article, while it is supported by a body of cooling fluid, is accomplished at the rapid rate desired, by the substitution of higher pressure cooling air for the low pressure airsupplied by the lower cooling head and the concurrent-application of, similarly higher pressure air from the upper cooling head to the glass article. After the article has been thus rapidly cooled or chilled to the extent desired, the upper cooling head may be raised, thereby automatically shutting off the higher'pressure air and turning on the low pressure air from the lower cooling head to again take over the support of the article until it is removed. The article may be removed in any suitable known way.

A second form of apparatus embodying the invention, as partially shown in Figs. 3 and 4, includes provisions for exhausting the spent cooling air from the space immediately surrounding the glass article being cooled through fluid exhaust or escape passages in the upper and lower cooling heads. The amounts of spent cooling fluid exhausted or permitted to escape through these passages in the cooling heads are regulable. Provision also is made to laterally confine the cooling fluid in the space between the upper and lower cooling heads when the upper cooling head is in its lowered or cooling position relative to the lower cooling head. Regulable amounts of cooling fluid may be discharged radially inward from the outer marginal part of the laterally confined space between the two cooling heads at a number of angularly spaced points around the vertical axial line of these heads. This willserve not only to aid the cooling of the edge portion of the article but will tend to stabilize the centered position of the fluidly supported article in the enclosed space between the opposed vertf cally spaced faces of the cooling heads.

The features above generally pointed out as being included in the form of apparatus which is partially shown in Figs. 3 and 4 will be understood by reference to these views. In Fig. 3, an upper cooling head, designated 480., has been formed or constructed to provide a cooling fluid chamber 68 therein directly above the convexoconcave bottom plate 69 of such cooling head. This cooling head also has an exhaust or spent cooling fluid escape manifold chamber in its upper portion, separated from the cooling fluid chamber 68 by a transverse wall or partition II. The bottom plate 69 is provided With numerous spaced jet holes I2. Vertical fluid exhaust or escape tubes I3 extend through the cooling fluid chamber 88. The lower end portions of these tubes 13 fit within vertical openings M which are provided in the bottom plate 69 in spaced relation with one another and individually adjacentto the jet holes I2. The upper end portions of the tubes 13 fit in similar openings 15 in the partition wall II. Communication thus is established through these tubes 13 between the space directly beneath the bottom plate 69 of the upper cooling head and the lower portion of the chamber 10 within the upper portion 16 of the cooling head. The upper cooling head may receive cooling fluid, specifically higher pressure air, from a supply line which may comprise a flexible tubing Bla like the tubing BI of the Fig. 1 form of apparatus and a rigid pipe section or nipple T! which is connected at its delivery end with an air intake port 18 in the side wall of the chamber 68 of the cooling head.

Regulation of the amount of spent cooling fluid permitted to pass through the chamber 10 to an outlet I9 for that chamber is eifected by the use of a damper or register comprising a stationary apertured damper plate 88 extending transversely of the chamber 18 and a cooperative apertured rotary damper plate 8| mounted on the stationary plate 88. The rotary damper plate 8| may be' rotated on the stationary plate 80 by a; damper operating mechanism 82, which includes a pivoted operating handle 83, to bring apertures 84 in the rotary damper plate 8| more or less in register with similar apertures 85 in the stationary damper plate 80. The damper or register just described and its mode of operation are conventional and any other suitable known flow regu-- lating device may be employed in lieu thereof.

The upper cooling head may be carried by the piston rod 50 of the Fig. 1 form of apparatus in lieu of the previously described upper cooling head 48. The supply of higher pressure air to the flexible tubing 6Ia may be controlled by the valve mechanism of the mechanism for lifting and lowering the upper cooling head, as in the case of the Fig. 1 form of apparatus.

The. upper cooling head may be formed to provide a hollow annular portion 86 surrounding the wall of the cooling fluid chamber 68. An annular auxiliary cooling fluid chamber 81 is thus provided within the part 86. A branch line 88 leads from the pipe section 'I! of the pressure fluid line to a lateral inlet port 89 in the outer wall of the part 86 so as to supply pressure fluid to the annular chamber 81. The amount of fluid passing through the member 88 to the chamber 81 may be regulated by a throttle or adjusting valve 90.

A series of short tubular nozzles 9| are supported beneath the rim portion of the bottom plate 69 of the upper cooling head in angularly spaced positions around that rim (see Fig. 4). These nozzles have stem portions 92 which extend I through aligned openings in the bottom and top walls of the annular chamber 87 and each is retained in place, as by a nut 93 on the upper end portion thereof as shown for one of these nozzles in Fig. 3. The tubular nozzles 9| are closed at their upper and lower ends and each is provided with intake ports 94 in the stem portion thereof within the auxiliary annular chamber 81 and with inwardly directed lateral discharge apertures or jet holes 95 in the inner side Wall thereof for discharging jets of air radially inward in the space immediately beneath the apertured discharge plate 69.

The upper cooling head is provided with a guard structure 96 depending from the peripheral portion of such head around the rim of the bottom plate 69 and below the level of the latter. This guard structure is adapted to seat at its lower edge upon the annular rim 9? of an upwardly facing lower cooling head 21a at the cooling station. The guard structure 96 includes an imperforate annular member 98, preferably made of a suitable transparent plastic material so as to permit observation therethrough of the space therewithin.

The lower cooling head 21a has a concave-convex top plate 99, constituting the top wall of a cooling fluid chamber I00. The bottom wall IOI of the cooling fluid chamber I80 constitutes the top wall of a chamber I02 of an exhaust or spent cooling fluid escape manifold portion I03 of the lower cooling head, Jet holes I84 are formed in the top plate 99 of the lower cooling head. Vertical exhaust tubes I85 extend through the chamber I88 and have their upper and lower ends located in suitable aligned openings in the plate 99 and the wall IUI, respectively, so as to provide communication between the space immediately above the top plate 99 and the upper portion of the exhaust manifold chamber I02. The relation otithe boreofi each tube l 05'to adjacent jetholes lll'd: may 'be. as shown to advantage in Fig; 4.:

Cooling? fluid, specifically. higher pressure air,

may beisupplied to thei'chamber 100 from a pipe 62a which corresponds to the pipe 62 of the Fig.

aspreviously described for the upper cooling head,-

alsol'may' be provided for regulating flow of spent cooling fluid through the manifold chamber I02 of the lower coolingihead; The manifoldichamber I02 is provided with an outlet I06.

' The lower cooling'headmay besupported on an upright tubular member 38a, corresponding to the tubular member 38 ofth'e Fig. l formof devices However, in view of the diiTerent air supply provi-- sions of the lower cooling head of the Fig. 3. form of construction; thebore of the tubular: member. 38a is' closed at 'its1upper'end, as by a plug; I01, and a branch line lllafisy'provided between the 1 tubularmember 38a,.and the pipeBZa forsupplying: low pressure airto the latter and thence to the chamber I00 within the lower cooling-head The operation of theform of apparatus shown in Figs. 3 and '4' will be readily understood. One of the: glass articles I6 is shown floating upon a body or cushion of cooling fluid in the laterally enclosed space between the top plate 99 of the lower cooling head and the bottom. plate 69 of the-upper cooling head; This glass article is being cooled by higher pressure air jets from the cooling heads; Thespent cooling fluid is exhaustedor removed through the verticalexhaust tubes in the cooling heads; The outlets 19'and lflfifobviously may. be connected operatively with any suitable known means (none shown) to lower the pressure therein if desired; Regulated amounts of cooling fluid are supplied to the auxiliary nozzles 91 so that jets of cooling fluid are discharged from these nozzles radially inward and against the edge o'fl'the floating glass article. This will tend to maintain'the fluidly supported glass article in a centered position: in'the space between the cooling heads and may alsoaid in cooling at least the edge portion of the glass article.

Other glass articles than the concavo-convex lens shown in the drawings may be tempered by use of the illustrative embodiments of the invention shown in the drawingsand hereinbefore particularly described." Also," these illustrative embodiments may bechanged and modified in many particulars which will readily occur to those skilled in theartand whichzare within thepurviewof my invention i I claim: I

1. Apparatus for tempering glass articles comprising a hollow lower'cooling head having numerous, closely spaced fluid discharge apertures in I its top distributed through the major portion of the: area thei eof; a hollow upper cooling head having fluid discharge apertures in its bottom, means for supplying cooling fluid at a relatively low pressure to said lowerjcooling head to discharge jets of low pressure cooling fluid upwardly therefrom so as to constitute afluid undersupport foreach hotglass article placed thereon, means for positioning saidupper cooling head in an op-' erative cooling relation to the thus supported hot glassarticle'jmeansfor supplying cooling fluid under pressure to said upper cooling head to discharge jets of cooling fluid downwardly onto said article, and means constructed and arranged to be} active" only when said upper cooling head is its s'aid operative cooling relation to the glass article. and then as supply cooling fluid to said lower'cooling head at a pressure higher than that of said first named cooling fluid.

2. Apparatus for temperingglass articles comprising a lower cooling headhaving numerous, 5 closely spaced jetholes distributed throughout the major portion of its top for discharging cooling fluid in an upward direction, an upper cooling,

head fordischarging cooling fluid in a downward" direction, means for supplying low pressure cool; ing fluid to the lower cooling head,'mean's for placing a hot glass article upon the upwardly directed cooling fluid from the lower cooling head; means for positioning said upper cooling head in positiorr to discharge cooling fluid downwardly onto the hot glass article on said upwardly directed "cooling fluid, means constructed and arranged to supply a higher pressure cooling fluid to said lower cooling head only when'said upper cooling head is in its said position, and means for concurrently supplying a counterbalancing pressure fluid to said upper cooling head.

3. Apparatus for tempering glass articles comprising a, hollow lower cooling head having numerous, closely spaced fluid discharge apertures in its top throughout the major portion of the area thereof, a hollow upper cooling head having fluid discharge apertures in its bottom, means for supporting said heads and for moving one relative to the other so that the upper head is located at one time in a position spacedabove andadjacent to the lower head and at another time in a position more remote from the lower head, means for supplying low pressure cooling fluid to said lower cooling headv when said upper cooling head is atsaid'remote position, and means constructed and arranged to supply higher pressure cooling fluid to both saidheads only when the upper head is-in its first named position' .4. Apparatus for tempering glass articles comprising, means having a relatively fixed position for discharging cooling fluid upwardl so as to provide a fluid undersupport for a hot glass article tobe tempered, means :for discharging cooling fluid downwardly onto said article, and means operatively connecting said first and said second named means automatically to increase discharge of cooling fluid from the first means concurrently with discharge of cooling fluid from the second means. l

5. Apparatus for tempering glassware comprising a hollow, stationary, lower cooling head having discharge apertures in its top, a vertically movable; hollow, upper cooling head having discharge apertures in its bottom, means for reciprocating said upper cooling head vertically between a lower, "cooling position spaced above the lower cooling head and adjacent thereto and a raised, inactive position more remote from the lower cooling head, a low pressure fluid line operatively connected with the lower cooling head, a higher pressure cooling fluid line also operatively connected with the lower cooling head, a pressure fluid line operatively connected with the upper cooling head, means controlling flow of" pressure fluid through said higher pressure fl'uidline forthe lower cooling head and through the pressure fluid line for'the uppercooling head automatically to supply pressure fluid through these lines to the respective heads only whenthe upper cooling head is in its lower, cooling position, means controlling the low pressure fluid line forthe lower cooling. head to cause deliver of low pressure cooling'fluid to the lower cooling 7:: head whenthe upper cooling head-is raised, and

means for delivering a hot glass article to be tempered onto the cooling fluid discharging from said lower head when said upper cooling head is in its raised osition. I

6. Apparatus for tempering glassware comprising a stationary lower cooling head, said cooling head having a pressure fluid chamber therein provided with an apertured wall at the top of said head, a vertically movable upper cooling head having a pressure fluid chamber therein provided with an apertured wall at the bottom of the head, means for reciprocating said upper cooling head vertically between a lower, cooling position adjacent to the lower cooling head and a raised, more remote position, means for supplying low pres-. sure cooling fluid to the pressure fluid chamber of the lower cooling head, means providing fluid exhaust passages having end portions opening through the apertured wall of the lower cooling head adjacent to the apertures therein, means providing fluid exhaust passages having end portions opening through the apertured wall of the upper cooling head adjacent to the apertures therein, means for supplying higher pressure cooling fluid to the pressure fluid chambers of said heads when said upper head is in its lower, cooling position, an annular imperforate Wall interposed between the peripheral portions of said heads when the upper cooling head is at its lower, cooling position, a plurality of angularly spaced nozzles depending within said imperforate wall and having fluid discharge apertures at their inner sides for directing pressure fluid inward in the space between said heads when the upper cooling head is in its lower, cooling position, and. 1.

means for supplying cooling fluid under pressure to said nozzles.

7. Apparatus fOr tempering concavo-convex glass articles comprising a stationary, hollow, lower cooling head having a concavo-convex top wall provided with numerous, closely spaced discharge apertures distributed throughoutv the major portion of its area, a cooperative vertically movable hollow cooling head having a convexoconcave bottom wall provided with discharge apertures therein, means for reciprocating said upper cooling head vertically between a lower, cooling position spaced above and adjacent to the stationary cooling head and a raised, more remote position, means for supplying cooling fluid under pressure to the lower cooling head to dis charge upwardly therefrom jets of cooling fluid adequate to support a concavo-convex glass article thereon above and out of contact with the top of the stationary cooling head, means for placing such an article when it has been heated to an upper tempering temperature upon said jets when the upper cooling head is in its raised'position, and means for supplying cooling fluid under pressure to the upper cooling head when the latter is in its lower, cooling position and for simultaneously increasing the cooling efiect of the pressure fluid supplied to the lower cooling head.

8. Apparatus for tempering glass articles comprising a cooling head having a top apertured to discharge cooling fluid under pressure upwardly therefrom to provide a fluid undersupport for each such article, means to supply cooling fluid under pressure to said cooling head, means for supporting each such article in a heated environment for heating said article to an upper tempering temperature, for removing the article from the heated environment and for delivering it in a heated condition onto said fluid undersupport, means for applying downwardly directed cooling 12 fluid under pressure onto the thus supported article, and means operatively connected with said last named means for concurrently increasing the pressure of the cooling fluid discharging upwardly from said cooling head.

9. Apparatus for tempering glass articles of a platelike character which comprises a hollow cooling head having a top portion apertured to discharge cooling fluid under pressure upwardly therefrom to provide a fluid undersupport for each such article when the article has been delivered thereto, means to supply cooling fluid un-. der pressure to said cooling head, a carrying head having a top surface formed to support said article throughout substantially the entire area of the then lower surface of the article, means for operating said carrying head to move it with the glass article thereon into a heated environment for the heating of the article to an upper tempering temperature, to then remove the article from the heated environment and to present it in an inverted position at a delivery position above said fluid undersupport, means for creating suction between the glass article and the supporting top surface of said carrying head to hold the inverted article at said delivery position temporarily against the carrying head, and means for relieving such suction to cause downward delivery of said article onto said fluid undersupport.

10. Apparatus for cooling a concavo-convex glass lens, or the like, which comprises a hollow cooling head having a top portion apertured to discharge cooling fluid under pressure upwardly therefrom to provide a fluid undersupport for each such article delivered thereto so as to support the article above and out of contact with the cooling head, means to supply cooling fluid under pressure to said cooling head, a carrying head having a convexly curved top surface conforming substantially to the shape of the concave surface of the glass article, the top of said carryingchead having apertures formed therein, means for operating said carrying head to move it, with the glass article thereon, into a heated environment for heating the glass article to its upper tempering temperature, to then withdraw the carrying head and the glass article thereon from the heated environment and to present the glass article in an inverted position at a delivery position over the cooling head, means for applying subatmospheric pressure to the apertures in the top of the carrying head to hold the article to said carrying head when the latter is being moved to present the article insaid inverted position over the cooling head and for then relieving said subatmospheric pressure to cause delivery of the inverted glass article downwardly onto said fluid undersupport, an upper cooling head movable vertically from a higher, inactive position downwardly to a cooling position immediately above the glass article on said fluid undersupport, said upper cooling head having discharge apertures in its bottom portion, and means for supplying cooling fluid under pressure to said upper cooling head when the latter is in its said cooling position and. for simultaneously supplying higher pressure cooling fluid to the fluid undersupport for said article.

11. The method of tempering a concave-convex glass lens which comprises heating said lens while it is resting with its concave surface downward upon a support having a glass contact surface convexly curved to conform to the curvature of' the concave surface of the lens, inverting said support with the lens thereon and applying a REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 7 Name Date Re. 22,392 Berthold Nov. 16, 1943 1,107,072 Houze Aug. 11, 1914 1,483,461 Littleton Feb. 12, 1924 1,911,119 Ingle May 23, 1933 Number Number 14 Name Date Miller Jan. 16, 1934 Long Aug. 21, 1934 Berthold Dec. 5, 1939 Long June 10, 1941 Lewis -1 Sept. 2, 1941 Long Oct. 13, 1942 Morehead Oct. 20, 1942 Quentin May 15, 1945 Harris Oct. 20, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Switzerland Feb. 1, 1936 Italy Aug. 11, 1939 Great Britain Dec. 22,1937 Great Britain Jan. 25, 1938 Germany July 18, 1933 France Jan. 22, 1930 France Sept. 21, 1936 France Apr. 11, 1938 France July 25, 1938 

